Turning Point USA has become embroiled in a feud with Baylor University in Waco, Texas, after it accused the institution of blocking the general public and the media from attending its latest event.
The latest stop on the grassroots organization’s “This is the Turning Point Tour,” the talk on Wednesday headlined by President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and podcaster Benny Johnson ultimately went ahead at the university’s Waco Hall, but not without a spat erupting over access for non-students.
“Rather than supporting the Waco community and Baylor alumni, the university restricted entry for all non-students at our event tonight forcing us to tell 4,500 ticket holders not to come,” TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet wrote on X.
“Oh and the Southern Baptist school approved an LGBTQ counter-programming event after a bunch of progressive students complained. What gives, Baylor?”
The X account of The Baylor Lariat, the campus newspaper, also reported that there would be no press access to the event, a decision it said it had been told was taken “in the best interest of our students.”
A TPUSA representative told Breitbart News: “This event was originally designed to be open to both the student body and local Waco community.
“In a tight-knit community like Waco, where the university is the heartbeat of town, it would be weird not to open it up to the community.
“We reserved a large enough venue to accommodate all the tickets reserved only to have the school administrators ultimately deny their entry.
“You feel awful for all the folks, 4,500 of them, that won’t be able to come, but Border Czar Homan, AG Paxton, and Benny Johnson are going to give our students all the attention they deserve and we’re going to put on a great event.”
However, Sharra Hynes, Baylor University Vice President for Student Life, rejected TPUSA’s version of events, telling the same outlet: “The university was very clear with event organizers from the beginning that the event would be for students, faculty, and staff only, with the addition of 125 invited guests from the organizing group(s).”
The Independent has reached out to both TPUSA and Baylor for further comment.
The event, which was originally supposed to feature Donald Trump Jr, before a scheduling conflict led Paxton to step in as his replacement, eventually went ahead with more than 400 people in attendance, according to KWTX.
Both Paxton and Johnson used their time on stage to praise Charlie Kirk, TPSUA’s co-founder, who was shot dead by a sniper on a Utah university campus last fall, with the Texas gubernatorial candidate saying Kirk “was not afraid to take risks” and the influencer saying his ultimate goal had been “unity,” also crediting him with inspiring “young men’s religiosity.”
Homan used his appearance to talk up the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, warning of the threat posed by Mexico’s drug cartels south of the border, accusing the media of “trying to vilify ICE,” proclaiming that “walls save lives,” and saying that what scares him most is the “2 million known got-aways” still at large in the U.S.
“At 3 a.m., while you’re sleeping, there’s a green uniform standing on a dirt trail someplace, protecting this nation,” he reassured the Waco audience, also saying he had no concern about being labeled a racist, declaring: “I don’t give a s*** what people think of me… If you let them affect you like that, they win.”
Baylor senior David Lugo told KWTX afterward: “I think whether you reside on the Democrat, independent, or Republican side, having someone that runs that department in the United States is beneficial for you regardless if you agree or disagree with him.”
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